There is an excellent article in the Huffington Post by Dr. Jacob L. Wright of Emory University on the legacy of Cyrus the Persian and the ideology of his reign.

Dr. Wright offers some comments about a recent TED lecture by the director of the British Museum, Dr. Neil MacGregor, about the 2,600-year-old clay object known as the Cyrus Cylinder.

Dr. Wright points out that much the view of Cyrus is skewed and influenced by favorable references in the Hebrew Bible (cf. Isaiah 45:1, where the Persian King Cyrus is referred to as the Jewish Messiah!) Dr. Wright correctly points out that since much of the Bible was written and/or redacted during this period, we should expect a favorably flavored text regarding Persia.

The fact that Persia preferred to rule its provinces, including עבר-נהרה (Avar-Nahara), the Persian province Yehud (known previously as Judah) through temples and religious leaders (and governors, rather than risking the rebellion of foreign kings), should not disguise the fact that it was just as authoritative as Babylonian and Assyrian empires that preceded it. In fact, Persia went the extra step of promoting a single national tongue – Aramaic – an issue that is just as controversial today in the US as it was then in Persia.